previously plagued with problems. >> florida senator marco rubio fighting to stay relevant in the presidential election. what he's got planned here in the bay area today to try to revive his campaign. >> good morning, thank you for joining us on this monday for abc action news. >> janelle and ivan are here to start with traffic and weather together. the weekend was fantastic. a little cool in the morning. i wake up early enough but we'll take it certainly this time of year. it won be long before we get rid of the 50s. not for a while. i think we're in pretty good shape as far as the cooler temperatures. if you like to start with those to get your day going, we have that certainly today and then some. i'll show you the temperatures a little further north. right now checking in at 55 in tampa/clearwater and 61 st. pete. as we look at the rest of the area with temperatures, well, right now in the 40s. that is cold. brooksville, inverness low 40s now. 55 in tampa as i mentioned but

us certainly getting into the 70s by later today. in fact i think we're going to have a string of 80 plus degree days here but not today. i think we're holding in the 70s. upper 70s, it will feel nice. by the way the humidity still in check so just like the comfortable with plenty of sunshine and just a few fair weather clouds, but we have changes on the way the next few days and i'm already tracking the next rain chance. it's been a while. is your lawn nice and dry? >> mine is terrible. >> i bet. we're talking about quiet weather and certainly through the start. i have to tell you this week weatherwise, i think we're going to be in pretty good shape for at least the morning commute. we're in good shape now. the only trouble spot is construction on i-275 in pinellas county, the inside lane is blocked. this is southbound around 31st street south. not causing much of a problem, it's still early, traffic light but just remember to slow down and move over. you may also run into construction on 275 in hillsborough county from

but traffic flowing nicely here at ashley. they are just blocking one or two lanes, probably wrapping that up as we speak. no delays to tell you about there. checking the average speed from the apex on 275 and 75, looking great. both of them in the green, 65 the average speed, from the apex to i-4 southbound. and 68 the average speed on i- 75 from the apex to i-4, back to you. we start with breaking news at 5:02. flames severely damaged a half of a duplex on lantana avenue in tampa. fire crews say this started 2:30 this morning. no one was home in the unit where the fire began but there were people on the other side that got out safely. unfortunately crews pulled the power for both units meaning two families are displaced, the cause of the fire now under investigation. this morning more controversy for troubled allegiant airlines. this times of accusations of safety problems are coming from a mechanics union. abc action news reporter corey dierdorff joins us from st.

airport with what the teamster union and airline have to say. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. allegiant air getting ready for another public relations battle this morning. as that report coming out claiming that the airline isn't doing enough to keep its passengers safe. this comes just days after a flight bound for st. pete had to abort a takeoff in fort wayne, indiana because of smoke in the cabin. the latest in a string of problems plaguing the airlines the last several months. today the teamsters aviation mechanics coalition released reports, according to the tampa bay times, it identifies nearly 100 preventable emergency landings, flight delays, aborted takeoffs and issues between september and january. allegiant says "the teamsters aviation mechanic coalition never inspected a single allegiant aircraft and has no firsthand knowledge of our operation." and goes on to read "our

the faa recommendations and guidelines." we'll stay on top of this story, as soon as that report is released we'll bring it to you on air and on-line at abcactionnews.com. live in clearwater, corey dierdorff, abc action news. 5:3. democracy 2016 -- florida senator marco rubio heads to the bay area today using his latest win to convince everyone he can turn his campaign around and catch up with republican presidential frontrunner donald trump. senator rubio is holding a rally at the tampa convention center starting at 5:00. doors open at 4:00. the story is posted on our web site with information on how to get free tickets for the event if you're interested in going. head to abcactionnews.com and it's the first story in the happening now section, click on the story link. after his less than impressive showing on super saturday rubio was pleased to take a win yesterday in puerto rico. picked up all 23 delegates from the u.s. territory. his only other victory so far is minnesota on super tuesday.

to gain more ground in the sunshine state. in the overall race for delegates donald trump has 384, cruz has 300, rubio has 151 delegates. john kasich has 37. it takes 1,237 delegates to win the republican nomination for president. donald trump is calling on rubio to drop out. >> marco rubio had a very, very bad night. and personally i would call for him to drop out of the race. i want ted one-on-one. >> we will win the state of florida. we will beat donald trump there the way we beat charlie crist. >> ohio governor john kasich may be trailing but scored a big endorsement from the former governor of california arnold schwarzenegger. on the democratic side the candidates are also making tampa a stop on the campaign trail this week. hillary clinton is going to be in town thursday, holding a rally at 11:30 thursday morning. we're still waiting now, we're trying to get details on the location and any possible ticket information for you but

course we'll let you know. in the meantime you can rsvp, we have a link on our web site under story links, then friday chelsea clinton will be here to raise money for our mother. meanwhile just last night, clinton and bernie sanders were in flint for a cnn debate. both candidates tackled the lead conp tam nation. called for the governor of michigan to resign. then things got aggressive and they attacked each other. >> i voted to save the auto industry. he voted against the money that ended up saving the auto industry! >> whoa. >> i think that is a pretty big difference. >> well, i -- if you are talking about the wall street bailout where some of your friends destroyed this economy -- >> you know. >> excuse me i'm talking. >> there was clearly tension, the democratic debate never took the turn that the latest

last week which was full of personal attacks and insults. this morning's delegate -- bernie sanders beat clinton for his eighth win. prior to maine clinton had more than double the sanders total. she's about halfway to winning enough delegates to secure the democratic nomination. donald trump and hillary clinton are dominating the headlines this presidential election cycle there's a lesser known independent candidate trying to get your votes, joe maldonado is his name. he goes by "joe exotic." had a campaign rally in old'smar last night. he calls himself a man of the people. one of his primary platforms is a call to create an across the board tax for everyone including nonprofits of 8%. while he admits his candidacy is a long shot he hopes voters will give him a chance instead of choosing the politically established candidates. >> it's all a political game guys.

and your life and your family's life and your kids' life are all the pawns are a political game. -- of a political game. it's time to stop this. >> maldonado only declared his candidacy in november so he says his biggest hurdle is gathering enough petition the ballot. the rising gas prices sticking around as the national average jumps several cents the past two weeks. aaa pins the average price a gallon at $1.81 nationwide. keep in mind still cheaper than this time a year ago. we drove around the bay area to check it and the average in tampa also $1.81. across florida the average price is $1.84. we have cool temperatures to start the week, enjoy those if you prefer the cooler starts because we have a big warm-up on the way. i'll let you know how warm temperatures will get this week coming up in a few minutes.

in california. we'll show you the new video of the hardest hit spots and rescues. >> then a scuba diver suddenly sucked into a massive pipe. he shares the scary moments that he thought would be his last as we learn this is not

good morning.

at i-275 at 31st street. no problems but we're seeing a little of some flashing lights. janelle is watching the construction in that area and she'll tell you what to expect and how it's affecting your moment. this morning though a florida man is suing florida power & light after scuba diving experience nearly ended his life. christopher lacoon was with a friend near st. lucie last summer when a massive intake plant from the st. lucie in. he tumbled through it for five minutes and a quarter mile while his friend watched in horror thinking that christopher had died. he also thought he would not make it. >> it could have killed me. i just contemplated so i pulled the regulator out of my mouth, should i just die? started thinking about my feme. >> he wound up in a pond at the power plant. he's now suing florida power &

wasn't properly marked but company officials say he bypassed a warning buoy. even more bizarre, this apparently happened before, in 1989 another diver describes going through the same five minutes of terror. 5:14. after an extended dry spell california is recovering from a series of powerful storms that worked their way across the west coast over the weekend. thousands of people from l.a. to san francisco were without power after gusty winds knocked down tries and power lines, right now only one person has been reported killed after they drove their car into high waters. several people were trapped near los angeles also but there were no other reports of serious injuries. doesn't look like the rain is going to end any time soon? >> no, it's going to continue to rain there. we've talked about el nino all season long. it's certainly impacted us with the tornadoes, for them it's been actually quiet. all of a sudden they are

so far upperwards of eight inches in areas, as far as rainfall. this is good and bad. it's just coming so hard and so heavy now a lot of that is going to run off but some of it is going to run off into the reservoirs. the area that i want california to rain at is central california because that is where the reservoirs are. not so much across the south though the rain coming in is going to impact a good chunk of the state. you can see on satellite and radar pretty significant rain coming in. by the way this very system we're seeing in california will eventually migrate, change a little but eventually get to our area by next weekend. the reason it's going to take an entire week to get here, we have this big area of high pressure that is going to be dominating our weather pattern and act as a block for that system. it will continue to move east and by the time it gets to new orleans that is where the brakes are going to get hit here. it's going to stop there and not allowed to move further east because of this high.

just very potent high pressure for this time of year. so that is going to keep us sunny, it's going to keep us dry and it's going to moderate our temperatures with the wind off the water and the southerly wind component. there you see still by weather system to the west. we're talking about clear weather the next few days. we're also going to moderate temperatures, so the 50s we're seeing now, 40s up across the nature coast. they won't be as cool the next few nights. we'll get rid of the 40s and be in the 50s tomorrow. then eventually overnight temperatures will be in the 60s with daytime highs that today 70s. i think tomorrow we have a good run at low 80s, even mid-80s across our interior counties. good. the 7-day forecast will show you -- with the high we're not seeing rainfall the next seven days. we'll hold in the low 80s. if you picked this week, well, it's spring break but also if

excellent stuff. unfortunately for us, saturday and sunday, that's when the system gets here a showers and storms. we've been lucky the last several weekends with great weather. >> i'm upset about that weekend forecast. i have big plans for outside this weekend. you work on that. we have problems in pinellas county. some construction, we told but it earlier, in the southbound lanes, a couple inside lanes blocked around the 31st street ramp. they are doing construction from 26th avenue south to 54th avenue south. this will be happening overnight all week. it starts at 9:00 p.m., doesn't wrap up -- not expected to wrap up until 7:00 a.m. so it may cause problems. you might want to leave a little early. i'll let you know he as soon as it clears. elsewhere in the bay area we're in great shape. i just checked, no crashes or breakdowns to tell you about. here's your drive on i-4 around the polk parkway, up to speed in both directions. the drive in lakeland, taking 22 minutes to get into downtown. 15 minutes from county line

and just eight minutes from 75 to 275. this morning president obama and first lady michelle reagan. >> the obamas say they were fortunate to benefit from her proud example and also her warm and generous advice. mrs. reagan died yesterday at her home in los angeles of congestive heart failure. mourners left a growing display of flowers and flags at the main entrance of the ronald reagan presidential library in simi valley, california. her best known project was the just say no campaign to help kids and teens stay off drugs. nancy reagan was 94. meanwhile reaction to her passing is still coming in, including in florida. governor rick scott releasing a statement that says in part "nancy reagan made a monumental impact on our nation and i know her legacy will live on just like her husband's legacy has." former president carter is celebrating a major milestone,

it comes seven months after the 91-year-old learned an aggressive form of melanoma spread to his liver and brain. a representative for carter says he will keep getting scans and continue treatment if needed. doctors declared the 39th president cancer flea in december. -- cancer-free in december. what goes well with yoga? how about a cold brew? a new fitness trend. we're learning about a setback at the iditarod this year in alaska. >> first, recall of chicken over concerns it could contain pieces of plastic. here's your business headlines from new york. >> reporter: good morning. topping "america's money" -- a recall involving nearly 5,000 pounds of chicken nuggets. >> the eight ounce packages of applegate chicken nuggets are being recalled after small pieces of plastic were found. distributed in seven states from texas to new york. gas prices inching back up.

cents over the past week to $1.81 a gallon. >> the experts blame growing demand and climbing crude oil prices but compared to this time last year gas still 70 cents a gallon cheaper. finally a stampede at the box office. >> all to see "zootopia" from disney. brought in $73.7 million. "london has fallen" was second with $22 million.

welcome back. 5:24. 85 mushers are competing in the iditarod dog sled race in alaska. it started yesterday despite a lack of snow? anchorage this -- in anchorage this winter. the nearly 1,000 mile long course covers dangerous terrain that includes two mountain ranges, fierce winds. the winner is expected to reach the finish line early next week. a new fitness trend is gaining in popularity in the bay area. and ties in with local businesses. the catch, the payoff comes after the workout. more than two dozen people took part in yoga and beer early sunday morning at hidden springs ale works in tampa. tickets for a beer and yoga class are $10 each. the brewery says it's hosting

sunday of the month. this month it just happened to fall on tampa bay beer week. coming up, there's months of build-up. and now the fight between hulk hogan and the web site goes down in court. what we can expect to see today, coming up in a live report. >> good morning. heading out the door in pinellas county? heads up, we have construction in the southbound lanes on 275 around 31st. it's pretty light out there so not causing any delays, just use caution. coming up, we'll check the

the sex tape viewed more than seven million times. wrestling superstar hulk hogan will have his day in court suing the web site that posted it for $100 million. coming up in a live report, i'll let you know what to expect later today in court. >> we've been following the build-up to the trial. count on abc action news to follow it as we take you inside the courtroom. first on this early monday morning a check of traffic and weather together. what does it look like out there? >> pretty quiet. i'm going to need sunrise pictures, sunset pictures. your cat pictures. some dog pictures here.

going to be this week. we are sunny, we are dry and we're kind of in the doldrums before the next system moves in. there will be nuances as far as the temperatures the next couple of days. in the mid-50s now. look at the hues in play to the north. 43 inverness and 42 brooksville. i think even here we'll get rid of the cool temperature heading into the next few days. it will be a warming trend that will take us into the low -- in fact i think by the middle part of the week we may even see mid-80s but first things first. we get into the 70s for later today. what a gorgeous day it's going to be. full sunshine, low humidity and average temperatures, all in all looks great, whatever you're doing outside. if you're heading out on the morning commute. weatherwise not just this morning, but i don't think we'll have any weather issues for the most part this week. roads are dry, visibility is good right now. here's a quick check of the bridges.